“Most agents nationally are generalists, but they make significantly less money than specialists per NAR research," says Greg Schenk of The Schenk Company. “You need to pick an area that you are passionate about and be the expert in that area to excel."

Schenk’s comment caught our eye, so we asked ourselves, “Is it really better to be a specialist?” If specialists earn more money, should we be encouraging all brokers—or at least our readers—to build depth in one specific area? And how does it vary by market?

Your workflow as a broker has about a million moving parts. From prospecting and building relationships to marketing and deal management, you have your work cut out for you.

It can be overwhelming to evaluate and optimize for each part of the process, and it’s wise to try and keep things as simple as possible. There are many products out there that can cover a lot of bases at once. And those core products often can and should integrate with easy-to-use apps and other tools to keep your workflow centralized.

That’s why we’re focused on simplicity in our product. We want to provide you with tools you love to use, and to that end, we want you to keep using the tools you already know and love.

Strong work relationships support successful careers. That’s especially true in the world of commercial real estate; from closing deals to finding better prospects, this industry is all about relationships.

As if that isn’t reason enough to cultivate professional relationships, analysis of Gallup interviews suggests people with a close friend at work are much more likely to be engaged and productive.

From building friendships on your team to boosting your network, use these tips to cultivate stronger relationships at work.

You may not think you’re guilty of this, but according to Rod Santomassimo atThe Massimo Group, it’s the most common prospecting gaffe he sees brokers make, no matter how experienced or successful they are.

For many professionals, the lines between our work and non-work lives are growing increasingly blurry. And many even tend to like it that way.

With the advent of smartphones and wireless internet, most knowledge workers no longer need to be at work to get work done. According to Gallup,43% of workers spend at least some of their time working remote, up from 39% in 2012. As a result, the role of the office is evolving.

Rather than consider our offices as a place to punch in and out before heading home to relax, we now seek out offices that function as community hubs that allow its members to be productive both in work and in life.

This shift will have obvious effects on the commercial office landscape--but less obvious ones on the retail and hospitality spaces. Here’s what you can expect.

Prospecting for new business is the lifeblood of a commercial real estate broker. To be successful, you need to build strong relationships and continually grow your network.

That’s why we pulled together a tip sheet to help you up your prospecting game at every stage of the process. These tips are short and sweet but are meant to inspire you to think of your workflow anew, from the technology you use to conversion metrics to relationship-building techniques and beyond.

Consider these two aphorisms: location, location, location and a picture is worth a thousand words. In the world of commercial real estate, the latter communicates the former. It accomplishes this through the time-tested technology―a map.Fortunately for you, Apto Prospect & Nurture now features an all new mapping tool to help you get more out of your property, listing, and comp data.

Any person in the business of selling needs a way to track and manage relationships.

CRM, or customer relationship management, is what begins to transform selling from an art to a science by distilling it into a set of calculated and repeatable actions, all set to reach the ultimate goal of making more money.

Some teams will opt for the do-it-yourself approach and manage relationships through basic Excel spreadsheets, while others will take a more progressive approach and lean on a cloud-based CRM tool such as the one we provide here at Apto.

But have you ever wondered what more your technology can do, but aren’t quite sure what that more might be or where to find it? Here are some considerations for what technology can do for you.

After buying Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, it seems like everyone has the same question: who will Amazon buy next? Predictions range from the sensible to the outlandish, yet of all possible contenders, Target is getting the most attention.

Well-known technology analyst Gene Munster recently predicted Amazon will buy Target sometime this year. With a current market cap approaching $42 billion, that’s a bold prediction, but it’s not unbelievable. Yet the deal is certainly not a sure thing and there are good reasons to think it won’t become a reality. While nobody can say for sure if Amazon will move to acquire Target, any potential deal would have an enormous impact on retail real estate and the technology it depends on.

There’s no shortage of commercial real estate content out there (including our own), but the specifics of using CRE tech are a little harder to come by.

For example, we talk about prospectingallthetime. Target high-value opportunities, we say (and we’re not the only ones). But what are the high value opportunities, and how do you find them? Why is that the best strategy? How can technology help?

Well, the Best Practices Library has the answer. We’ve recently made some updates that reflect our latest products, so we hope you’ll check it out! And we’ll be adding more articles in the weeks to come.

Are you back in the swing of things at work? Keeping your New Year's resolutions? In case you need a little more inspiration, here are four guides that cover CRM, prospecting, and marketing for commercial real estate.

In the world of commercial real estate, professionals have long turned to spreadsheets for their data needs. While spreadsheets are great for storing lots of data, they are not so great when it comes to identifying strategic trends. They’re also about as interactive as a brick wall.

Modern data integration and visualization systems are filling the void, giving CRE professionals the ability to make sense of their data quickly while using it in new and exciting ways. From unlocking your data’s true potential to boosting prospecting efforts, here are four reasons you should go beyond spreadsheets and use data visualization tools to amplify your business.

Those interested in the cannabis industry will have a lot to talk about in the coming months.

With the legalization of recreational cannabis sales in California, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, there are a total of nine states where the average citizen can purchase marijuana products, so long as they are over the age of 21. Medical marijuana is legal in a total of 29 states.

With this spike in demand for recreational marijuana came a dramatic increase in demand for cannabis-suitable real estate. While the laws and regulations surrounding this specialty are tricky, and can even foreseeably get brokers and other agents involved in transactions into legal trouble, professionals who take a chance on pot stand a lot to gain.

We looked back at a year of blog posts to bring you the 10 New Year’s resolutions every broker should consider making—and keeping—in 2018. Feeling inspired? Pick one of these ideas and make it happen. Remember, success isn’t just about reading something and bookmarking it for later: it’s about turning what you learn into action.

Jules Hochman of Denver-based Pinnacle Real Estate Group leads a six-person team within his firm. With four brokers, a transaction manager, and an executive assistant, they’ve found a niche in multifamily and retail.

He’s been in the business for a couple decades, and the biggest change he’s seen is the rise of technology. Now, he acknowledges that “as a broker, you always want to do more business, and without technology you can’t.”

Fortunately, he’s found a tool that gives his team more time and lets them get more transactions done.